Choose 3 of your direct observations carried out in your PLO. Using these as the context, produce a critical reflection on what you have learned about your own practice.

The purpose of this assignment is to critically reflect on how effective my practice is by analysing my own direct work with service users and colleagues whilst on placement at a children’s home.
It is vital for me to be able to reflect on my own practice as I can adapt how I think, feel and behave in order to better meet the needs of service users. This statement is agreed by Horner (2004) who suggests that ‘reflection is a prerequisite to being an effective social worker, as it requires an approach that questions our thoughts, experiences and actions’.
Throughout …show more content…

This also fulfils element of the N.O.S 10.3 Advocate for and with service users and communities.(www.ccwales.org.uk. I prepared for a consultation with the young person by looking at the Children Act 1989 which requires social services to ‘ascertain the wishes and feelings’ of young people. I have shown the importance of anti-oppressive practice by working in partnership with him and empowering him to voice his opinions and hopefully make a positive change. In order for me to work in an anti-oppressive way firstly I needed to be aware of the institutional oppression and power inequalities which can affect young people and reinforces the powerlessness of that group. In order for me to work in an anti-oppressive I had to try and not just accept things just because they were organisational policy if I thought they were unfair to the young people. I was aware that certain pratices may have been institutionally oppressive and I found it difficult to challenge without it coming across as critical. However I demonstrated a way of challenging the system without it coming across as too critical in a meeting where I did a meeting on enhancing the rewards and sanctions system. This highlighted the weaknesses in the system but merely came across as suggestions that could improve the way we work with the young people. In hindsight I could have used more evidence based practice to justify my claims and this would have been more effective as it would have